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Why Do Some Aboriginal Communities Have Lower Crime Rates Than Others?

A Pilot Study

Ruth McCausland and Alison Vivian

Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology, Sydney.

Address for correspondence: Alison Vivian, Senior Researcher, Jumbunna Indigenous

House of Learning, UTS, PO Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007. Email:

Alison.Vivian@uts.edu.au.

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WHY DO SOME ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES HAVE LOWER CRIME RATES

THAN OTHERS? A PILOT STUDY

Abstract

Crime data published by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR)

indicates that there is considerable variation in rates of Indigenous1 offending from one

area to another in NSW, including in areas that are comparable in terms of Indigenous

population (Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research 2006). However, despite research

findings that raise the importance of community context in relation to the offending of

Indigenous individuals, there has been little investigation of the relationship between the

dynamics of Indigenous communities and crime rates. In particular, there is a dearth of

research that seeks to better understand the factors that may render Indigenous

communities less prone to crime.

This paper outlines the findings of a pilot study undertaken by a research team from

Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of Technology Sydney, with

support from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR). The pilot

study sought to better understand the factors that contribute to variations in rates of

Indigenous offending by conducting qualitative research in two communities with

significant Aboriginal populations, Wilcannia and Menindee, that are demographically and

geographically comparable but with contrasting crime rates.

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WHY DO SOME ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES HAVE LOWER CRIME RATES

THAN OTHERS? A PILOT STUDY

It is commonplace to observe that Indigenous Australians are significantly over-

represented at all stages of the criminal justice system, as both victims and offenders

(SCRGSP, 2009, 2.17, 4.139ff). Indeed, since Indigenous over-representation first came to

prominence with the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991, rates

have increased, despite various Commonwealth and NSW Government legislative and

policy measures.2 In NSW, the rate of Indigenous imprisonment is 12.5 times that of non-

Indigenous people (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008a), having increased by 21% since

2005 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005). Over-representation by Indigenous people

occurs in particular for violent offences, public order offences, and ‘justice related’ matters

such as breaches of existing court orders (Cunneen, 2007: 145-146).

Nonetheless, Indigenous communities are not homogenous and there is

considerable variation in rates of offending and victimisation in Indigenous communities

across NSW and Australia (Cunneen, 2007, 146-147). With this variation as its genesis,

this article outlines a pilot study undertaken by Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at

the University of Technology Sydney, with support from the NSW Bureau of Crime

Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), that sought to explore the particular social, economic

and cultural circumstances of two communities in NSW with significant Aboriginal

populations but markedly different rates of crime, and to investigate factors that may be

contributing to rates of crime in these communities.

There is a growing body of research that seeks to identify factors that increase the

risk of, or are associated with, individual Indigenous offenders’ involvement in crime.

Weatherburn, Snowball and Hunter (2006) drew on data from the 2002 National

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) to examine economic and

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social factors that underpin Indigenous contact with the criminal justice system. Their

findings supported previous research identifying risk factors including poor school

performance and poor school retention, child neglect and abuse, family disruption and

dissolution, unemployment, poverty and low socio-economic status, overcrowding, living

in a crime prone neighbourhood, lack of social support and involvement, social stress and,

most importantly, drug and alcohol abuse (Weatherburn et al, 2006).

By contrast, there has to date been little research focus on the broader dynamics and

characteristics of Indigenous communities and their relationship to rates of crime. Existing

research on variations in crime rates in NSW rural communities, such as that undertaken

by Jobes, Donnermeyer and Barclay (Jobes et al, 2004; Jobes et al, 2005 and Donnermeyer

et al, 2007) illustrates a complex interaction of factors. Building on their 2004 research

across six clusters of NSW rural communities that concluded that social factors were more

important to crime rates than population size or economic factors, Jobes et al (2005)

studied two NSW towns with Aboriginal populations of approximately six percent with

significantly different crime rates to similarly conclude that social cohesion and social

integration, rather than Aboriginality per se, explained the levels of crime and other social

problems. However, a third study of four communities (the two with above average

Aboriginal populations from the 2005 study and two communities with average Aboriginal

populations and differing crime rates) concluded that social cohesion was a greater

predictor of low crime rates in the communities with lower Aboriginal populations than the

other two towns where social and economic inequality were more significant. Such

research supports undertaking further qualitative community-level research to illuminate

statistical data (see for example, Crime Research Centre, 1999; Jobes, Barclay,

Donnermeyer and Weinand, 2000; Barclay et al, 2007; Lawrence, 2007).

Aim and methodology

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The aim of the study was to better understand the factors that contribute to significant

variances in rates of Indigenous offending in different areas in NSW by conducting

qualitative research in two communities with significant Aboriginal populations that are

demographically and geographically comparable but with contrasting crime rates. The

research team was particularly interested in whether there may be identifiable

characteristics or strategies that may have a positive impact on crime rates in Indigenous

communities. Steps undertaken included:

• A survey of available statistical, demographic and policy data that identified Wilcannia and Menindee in western NSW as appropriate case study communities;

• A literature review of relevant studies regarding crime rates and Aboriginal communities;

• Development of a theoretical framework and methodology for the collection and analysis of data;

• Consultation with key Aboriginal community and organisational representatives;

• Field work in the selected communities, primarily conducting in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews with key informants, selected on the basis of their organisational or representative role;

• Transcribing and coding of field work data to identify predominant themes and narratives;

• Analysis and communication of findings, including drafting of a community report for distribution to interviewees.

A Steering Committee of eminent individuals with extensive Indigenous, criminology,

legal, research and policy experience was established to inform the pilot study.

The study relied on data using postcode boundaries. In seeking to explore the

dynamics of the groups within those boundaries, while being mindful of problems in

defining Indigenous ‘community’, we were guided by the definition of an Indigenous

community developed by the Indigenous Community Governance Project at the Centre for

Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, as a network of people and organisations linked

together by a web of personal relationships, cultural and political connections and

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identities, networks of support, traditions and institutions, shared socioeconomic

conditions or common understandings and interests (Hunt and Smith, 2006).

In identifying a suitable framework for the study, the research team was aware of

the questionable tendency of western criminology to simply extend existing conceptual

categories to accommodate Aboriginal issues (Blagg, in Anthony and Cunneen, 2008,

131). In particular, Blagg questions the applicability of criminological theories that

predominantly emerge from large cities in the United States that are essentially shaped by

circumstances that are the antithesis of those experienced by Indigenous peoples. That is,

the immigrant experience of diaspora and adaption: learning new languages, cultures,

values and political processes, versus withstanding the imposition of foreign laws,

institutions, peoples, economies, beliefs while maintaining Aboriginality and distinct

identity in their own country (Blagg, in Anthony and Cunneen, 2008, 133-134).

The study drew on social disorganisation theory to inform the interview approach

and analysis of the data, as the most common theoretical framework employed by

criminologists conducting research in relation to rural or regional communities

(Donnermeyer 2007, 18). Concepts of social disorganisation have been described as aptly

applying to Indigenous communities in terms of the breakdown of Indigenous informal

social controls as a result of colonisation and dispossession (Snowball & Weatherburn,

2008). However, given the trial nature of the study and suggested limitations, the research

team sought to draw on the concepts embedded in social disorganisation theory whilst

being open to alternative theoretical explanations or findings that may not support any

existing criminological or other theory.

In essence, social disorganisation theory emphasises the dual and interrelated

impacts of a community’s ability to realise common goals on the one hand and to maintain

effective controls on crime on the other (Carcarch and Huntley 2002, 1). Central to the

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theory is the assumption that crime is based on a lack of shared values and beliefs among

members of a community, and an inability to solve common problems (Sampson &

Groves, 1989; Bursik & Gransmick, 1999 cited in Donnermeyer, 2007, 18). Elements of

social disorganisation that disrupt the informal social ties, internal cohesion and density of

acquaintanceship that are posited by the theory to control criminal behaviour include

residential instability/high population turnover; racial/ethnic heterogeneity; family

disruption; low economic status (poverty, unemployment) and population (size, density

and proximity to urban places) (Jobes et al, 2004: 119). Wilson and Kelling (1982) argued

that even perceiving a local area as disorganised increases the likelihood that crime will

occur there (cited in Jobes et al, 2005, 225).

Sampson (1995) identified three major dimensions of the social disorganisation

model applicable to community-based research: a community’s ability to supervise and

control (teenage) group level behaviour; the density of relational networks (communities

with strong, dense and high quality interpersonal networks arguably have a greater

capacity for fostering environments that constrain deviant behaviour); and the rate of

participation in voluntary associations and local organisations and stability and density of

social institutions (low participation in local activities and weak community organisational

structures tend to affect a community’s capacity to reduce local crime) (cited in Carcarch

and Huntley 2002, 1).

Jobes et al (2005, 224) identify types of controls operating in communities, namely

‘supportive’ vs ‘reactive’ controls, and ‘natural’ vs ‘manufactured’ controls. Supportive

controls include the institutional framework in the community that helps prevent crime:

organised institutions, family cohesion, employment, population stability, moral and

ethical foundations, and ethnic and racial integration. Reactive controls include the social

structures, such as police and the courts, which respond to social and behavioural

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problems. Natural controls, norms and structures that have evolved locally through the

activities of long term residents can be contrasted with manufactured controls that are

introduced and maintained by external people, including government employees.

Given that the study’s focus was on better understanding the social, cultural and

economic factors that underpin variation in crime rates, our methodology was to engage

with key community and organisational representatives and others working in relevant

criminal justice and service delivery roles to gain an understanding of the dynamics and

experiences of the community as a whole, rather than, say, individuals who had been

victims or perpetrators of crime. Representative and service delivery organisations were

key points of contact in identifying with whom to conduct interviews.

In-depth, semi-structured interviews with key informants were undertaken to gather

information on and explanations of issues, circumstances and attitudes, both to better

illustrate statistics and as a source of data in their own right. The interviews focussed on

the issues central to the research question, but with questioning and discussion allowing for

greater flexibility than a survey-style interview (Minichiello, 2008, 64). The approach was

tailored to be receptive to alternative narratives and perspectives on a range of factors

affecting crime rates in communities. Given the potentially sensitive nature of discussing

issues of crime, the criminal justice system, community dynamics, and different

approaches to leadership and service delivery in small communities, interviewees were

given the opportunity to speak with the research team confidentially. Interviews were

recorded unless interviewees requested that they not be, and data gathered through the

interviews was transcribed and coded for key themes and common narratives using NVivo

software. Thirty-six people agreed to be interviewed and to have their interviews recorded,

twenty-one of whom are Aboriginal. A further eight people (seven Aboriginal) agreed to

be interviewed but declined to have their interviews recorded.

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Confidentiality proved to be a pivotal factor in eliciting agreement for involvement

in the study. Seven people requested total anonymity, including that there be no reference

to them personally in the acknowledgments. Four people specifically requested that the

organisation for which they worked also not be identified. If quoted, interviewees were

given the option of being identified by position title or by a generic descriptor such as

‘community service provider’ or ‘community worker’ but in each case, the description was

chosen by the interviewee. Only thirteen people agreed to be identified by position title,

although two participants withdrew their request for anonymity after reading a draft

community report. Interviewees could withdraw their consent regarding involvement in the

study at any point, and one did so after reading the draft community report.

Due to confidentiality undertakings, a complete list of organisations represented in

the study cannot be provided. However, representatives of a wide range of organisations

were interviewed for the study including the NSW Police Force (police officers and other

employees), Aboriginal Legal Service, schools, community working parties, local

Aboriginal land councils, Central Darling Shire Council, Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly,

Local Court liaison officers, health services, counselling services, youth services,

government and non-government service providers.

The general areas that the research team sought to cover in interviews with key

informants related to their organisation’s history and role in the community; community

strengths and weaknesses and changing dynamics; community participation; solutions to

community problems; level of volunteerism; cultural composition of the community; roles

of women, young people and older people; activities for young people, experiences of

education and prospects on leaving school; who takes responsibility for young people in

trouble; non-Aboriginal perceptions/media representations of the community; employment

opportunities, housing; mobility of community members; government and non-government

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agencies, services and organisations and their effectiveness. Specifically in relation to

crime rates, the research team asked about perceptions of rates of crime and Indigenous

offending in the community; how and why crime rates may have changed over time; what

kinds of crime are most common and why that might be the case; strategies or programs

that may have reduced crime rates, how they came about, who was in charge of them and if

and how they worked; and any ideas of what could work to reduce crime rates. Appendix 1

is the list of questions that was prepared for the interviewers for guidance.

Key themes that were raised by several different interviewees were identified and

outlined in a community report, although the research team remained cognisant of the

importance of the ‘outsider’ view. Where an observation was made by a single person, it

was raised with other interviewees for confirmation or denial. For example, the claim made

by one person that young children were ‘on ice’ in Wilcannia was rejected by numerous

people living and working in Wilcannia and not reported.

Methodologically, it was important that the interviewees be allowed to reflect on

topics covered in each interview and express their views, rather than being ‘led’ to

particular topics. Inevitably, different factors that may impact on rates of crime or social

cohesion – either positively or negatively – arose in relation to the two communities from

different interviewees. For example, problematic alcohol consumption was repeatedly

raised in relation to Wilcannia but only by one person in relation to Menindee; Aboriginal/

non-Aboriginal intermarriage in Menindee was raised but not mentioned in relation to

Wilcannia. It was not possible to follow up such differences in the pilot study but they will

be an important starting point in the next stage of research in the two communities.

A draft ‘community report’ was provided to each interviewee requesting feedback

on the report generally and confirmation that they had been quoted in context. The research

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team returned to Broken Hill, Wilcannia and Menindee to discuss the draft report with

some interviewees before finalisation. Others provided feedback by email or telephone.

Wilcannia and Menindee

Wilcannia and Menindee are communities within the Central Darling Shire in western

New South Wales, the second most disadvantaged local government area in NSW (ABS,

2008d). In the 2006 Census of Population and Housing (‘2006 Census’), the towns of

Wilcannia and Menindee were recorded as having populations of 595 and 332

respectively3 with very large Indigenous populations: 67.4% of the total population

surveyed identified as Aboriginal in Wilcannia, while 46.7% did so in Menindee. The

nearest major centre to both communities is Broken Hill, with a population of 18,854 of

which 6.4% are Aboriginal people. Wilcannia is approximately twice the distance from

Broken Hill (approximately 200km) than Menindee (approximately 110km). Under the

Australian Standard Geographical Classification, Wilcannia and surrounds are classified as

very remote. The town of Menindee is classified as remote, while the broader region

encompassing the town is very remote.

Wilcannia and Menindee are both within the traditional lands of the Barkindji

people. European settlement in western NSW progressed along the rivers, having a

devastating effect on the Barkindji who, despite their resistance, were forcibly

dispossessed of their land along the Darling River and prevented from exercising their

traditional economy and lifeways. The Nyampa, whose traditional lands are semi arid

regions south west of Cobar, lived for longer without institutional interference until forced

to Carowra Tank by drought and later relocated without notice or consent to Menindee in

the 1930s. Barkindji people living in town camps in Wilcannia were also forcibly removed

to the Menindee mission under a policy of concentrating Aboriginal people under

Aboriginal Protection Board control. The Nyampa and Barkindji generally remained as

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distinct cultural groups, speaking different languages and identifying with different

country. With a second forcible relocation to Murrin Bridge in the 1950s, most Barkindji

families returned to Wilcannia, while others remained in Menindee. Today, Wilcannia is a

largely segregated town with the majority of the Aboriginal population living on the

outskirts of town in areas referred to still as the ‘Mission’ or the ‘Mallee’. Menindee is

known as a more integrated town, its Indigenous population identifying as Barkindji and/or

Nyampa with a significant degree of intermarriage with non-Aboriginal people.

[Insert Table 1 here]

Perhaps the most prominent disparity in the 2006 Census data relates to the recorded

unemployment levels in Menindee that are double that in Wilcannia (39.6% compared

to19.5%), which contrasts so markedly with interviewees’ observations of greatly higher

levels in Wilcannia. Recorded participation in the Community Employment Development

Projects (CDEP) program by the ABS is one possible explanation for this large

discrepancy. CDEP participation data is only collected from people surveyed by the

Indigenous Household Form (ABS, 2008a), which was utilised for Aboriginal families in

Wilcannia but not Menindee. Thus, CDEP participation was not separately recorded in

Menindee, whereas 26 of a total labour force of 120 in Wilcannia were CDEP participants

(ABS, 2007a) and it is not possible to estimate how CDEP workers in Menindee may have

responded. Interestingly, there were no unemployed non-Aboriginal people in Wilcannia at

the time of the 2006 Census (ABS, 2007a) while 20 percent of non-Aboriginal men and no

non-Aboriginal women were unemployed in Menindee (ABS, 2007b).

Crime Statistics

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This pilot study did not have the scope to investigate changes in crime rates or population

in the two communities over time. The statistics set out below are taken from crime data in

for 2008 published by BOCSAR. Broken Hill is included as a reference point.

[Insert Table 2 here]

Findings

Wilcannia: High Crime Rates

High crime rates in Wilcannia in 2008 were predominantly in the areas of assault, break

and enter dwelling and malicious damage to property. Certain definite and common

narratives emerged when interviewees were asked about the possible causes of the high

crime rate in Wilcannia. These involved high-risk alcohol use; lack of meaningful

employment and activity; poverty and inequality; and the dry Darling River. Associated

issues were identified as grief and mental health problems; the approach of police; an

acceptance of crime; criminal justice processes; and government policy and priorities.

Alcohol. Whether as a cause of crime in itself or as an exacerbating or triggering

factor, the high rate of crime, and violent crime in particular, was attributed by every

interviewee who lived and/or worked in Wilcannia and others to regular and extremely

high levels of alcohol consumption amongst many community members.

There is too much violence, way too much violence, from what I can see most of it appears to be alcohol-related, inspired, assisted… Aside from petty crime, theft, etc., I have seen very few incidents of assault where the people haven’t been associated with each other, known each other, been in the same family, been in a relationship, an ex-relationship, and that seems to have been the pattern as I have seen it. So to me, the random crime that occurs in the capital cities doesn’t seem to be occurring here.

Non-Aboriginal Business Operator, Wilcannia Responses to public alcohol consumption and public order issues, such as restrictions on

the trading of alcohol and the introduction of alcohol free zones in the town, were

considered to have had unintended consequences. One police officer stated that the

‘violence and alcoholism haven’t gone away but has been pushed into the homes’. The

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effectiveness of such measures in reducing the quantity of alcohol consumed was

questioned, with the hypothesis forwarded by police employees and local residents that

such restrictions may actually contribute to binge drinking. There are no social outlets or

venues for people to gather that do not involve alcohol in the town.

After identifying alcohol as a major causal factor in high crime rates, interviewees

often suggested reasons for dangerous alcohol consumption, highlighting mental health

issues, trauma and grief.

Drug and alcohol use is one of the biggest factors. I think there are lots of reasons for that. People drink to forget things, whether it’s sexual assault or domestic violence in their home. The only way they are ever going to change drug and alcohol abuse is to have counsellors living in the community, on the ground, for the people. Mental health is a huge issue.

Aboriginal Community Worker Funerals, too often of young community members in tragic circumstances, were identified

by police and community service providers as flashpoints for alcohol related crime and

violence with a large influx of people often requiring additional police resources.

Despite the extent and gravity of dangerous levels of alcohol consumption in

Wilcannia, the lack of culturally appropriate local treatment services was highlighted by

police and by health, education and legal service providers. Even the most basic service

where intoxicated people can go until they sober up does not exist. People who wish to

undertake a rehabilitation program must leave the town and their families.

‘Yarndi’ or marijuana is reported to be widely and regularly used by many

community members in Wilcannia but was not reported as impacting on crime rates. The

consumption of alcohol and marijuana in Wilcannia can be contrasted with use of other

drugs. A strong and proactive community stance is reportedly taken on ‘hard drugs’ such

as amphetamines in Wilcannia, described by a counsellor as the town drawing the line at

‘anything injectable’: ‘The boys go round to have a word, and empty it out on the ground’.

Lack of meaningful employment and activity. While Census data records

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unemployment levels in Wilcannia at 20.5% for Indigenous people, a recent study

estimated that unemployment levels are in reality much higher (Drewery, 2009, 5).

Certainly the figures are affected by the fact that Community Development Employment

Project (CDEP) workers are classified as employed, although this will be affected by the

abolition of CDEP in the town after June 2009. The main employers in Wilcannia are the

Central Darling Shire Council, Department of Education and Training, NSW TAFE and

NSW Police (Drewery, 2009, 7).

The lack of opportunity for meaningful employment, or a sense of purposelessness

combined with a lack of capacity to take up what opportunities there may be, was

overwhelmingly identified by those who live and/or work in Wilcannia and others as a

significant factors in high crime rates. Several interviewees referred to a letter written by

the local magistrate at the time, praising a Keating Government job skills program which

was reportedly accompanied by a dramatic decline in court attendance, domestic violence

and ambulance call outs for the duration of the program.

A lack of employability in general terms was raised – lack of education, training or

capacity – but specifically, having a criminal record on employment prospects was

identified by police, court staff and members of representative bodies as a compounding

factor. The potentially devastating impact of a criminal record has particular resonance in a

community when it was said by police that the majority of young people would come to

the attention of the police whether as instigators or ‘hangers on’ by the time they are 16.

The impact of an intergenerational pattern of unemployment on the aspirations of

young people was also highlighted, where young people question the value of education.

That feeling of not being able to get meaningful work in the town for adults has a bit of a flow on effect to the kids, so it means you get more kids dropping out of school, more people thinking they’re worthless.

Aboriginal Language and Culture Teacher, Wilcannia

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The Central Darling Shire Council was heavily criticised for not showing leadership as an

employer itself or promoting employment schemes in the town. Despite employing

Aboriginal people outdoors, the fact that there are no Aboriginal people in the Shire offices

was angrily cited by some local Aboriginal residents as a failure to fulfil expectations of it

as a representative body in the town. Its vision for the town was not seen to be one of

empowerment for Aboriginal people.

As with adults, lack of a sense of purpose and engagement in meaningful activities

for children and young people was regularly raised as a causal factor in Wilcannia’s high

crime rates. There is a local ‘drop in centre’ but virtually no other activities apart from a

fortnightly film night run by a local resident on her own initiative.

People have to have something to do – something meaningful. You wouldn’t see too many offenders who are employed, or if they’re younger, who go to school regularly or come from a stable family background. They are not our customers.

Crime Manager, NSW Police, Broken Hill The role of the school in providing appropriate and engaging curriculum was also stressed.

There was general recognition that the Central School had improved in performance and

engagement with the community, although past practices of informing children at age 15

that they were entitled to leave school along with low expectations in performance by

teachers were cited with some bitterness. An Acting Principal had been appointed who was

praised for his commitment and vision, although his ‘Acting’ status was a source of

frustration when a long-term vision for the school was considered to be crucial.

Poverty and inequality. Interviewees identified the corrosive effects of systemic

poverty and inequality as major factors underpinning high crime rates in Wilcannia. The

cost of living in Wilcannia is high with just one small supermarket and one roadhouse

selling fast food and a small range of grocery items, and the cost of fresh food is

exorbitant. The stark contrast between the high cost of living and the low economic status

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of the local Aboriginal population who are predominantly receiving social security

entitlements was forcefully made.

I think if people really knew what an empty stomach was, when you see more meal times than meals – it’s not a good feeling. You will do all sorts of things you wouldn’t normally do, but we don’t provide for that. If the government were providing access to food a lot cheaper than what we have now, you wouldn’t have half the crime rate…. They are the sorts of things that while they are neglected will always lead to crime, while communities are in poverty like this one.

Acting CEO, Wilcannia Local Aboriginal Land Council; Chairperson, Wilcannia Community Working Party

There was also a strong perception of uncoordinated programs and strategies dealing with

the symptoms of poverty but failing to address underlying causes.

What you tend to see is a lot of symptoms of living in poverty and every agency or organisation that’s involved in Wilcannia just deals with one aspect of it, so there’s never any joint effort to try and change things… if you’ve got some sort of employment strategy happening, then you probably need something along the lines of a training strategy happening as well, a health strategy happening at the same time, a domestic violence strategy going, but they’ll need to actually work together and not be totally isolated because one’s with the police and one’s with DOCS and one’s with the hospital and one’s with whoever, and not enough of that happens.

Aboriginal Language and Culture Teacher, Wilcannia Wilcannia is a divided and segregated community, socially and economically with reports

of direct and indirect racism. There is limited informal interaction between Aboriginal and

non-Aboriginal residents, who tend to live in different parts of the town, reflecting the

historical marginalization of Aboriginal people in town camps and on the mission. Non-

Aboriginal residents are perceived to fall into two categories; short-term external service

providers – police, teachers and health workers, and permanent residents. There was a

sense of injustice and resentment at the obvious disparities between the two communities,

intensified by poverty in a town with a high cost of living. The majority of the population

is Aboriginal, yet the organisations that exist in the town to service the community – that

essentially exist because of the Aboriginal population – were criticised for not employing

local people or engaging local people in the formulation or implementation of services.

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Poor quality housing and overcrowding were consistently identified as issues

requiring urgent attention. It was said that if you can’t get a good night’s sleep, then it is

difficult to function properly at school or at work. Inadequate, flawed housing projects that

have failed over decades to produce positive outcomes were frequently reported.

Dry river. The effects of the drought and the long-term lack of water in the Darling

River were regularly cited as a factor in high crime rates.

What also affects the [Wilcannia] community is the river, it’s a really important one here. It takes you back to the cultural side, and how connection to our river and our land is really important… Early 90s, we had a stage there when we were in a drought really bad, people were really down and crime rates right up. By the end of that year when the river had filled, friends of mine appeared, they’d come over for court, here they do a court circuit, rocked up: they only had one case. And the river was absolutely full, kids were swimming in the river, people were fishing, the spirit was just really high. Everything that affects our environment for blackfellas, it really has big impacts on people’s spirit.

Aboriginal Community Health Worker Associated Issues: Wilcannia

Grief and mental health problems. Service providers and community

representatives consistently raised the issues of significant and untreated mental health

issues as major problems in Wilcannia compounding other factors affecting crime rates.

The inadequacy of treatment services in general and counselling in particular was

repeatedly noted by police and health, education and other service providers, where people

in serious need must leave their community for help and others with less urgent problems

must wait for the next available appointment with a counsellor who drives from Broken

Hill once a week and ‘God knows what will happen in the meantime’.

[Grief counsellors] come out once a week from Broken Hill. Two hours driving out. They arrive at 11, 11:30 and they’re leaving by 3 pm. [Wilcannia] needs six full time [counsellors] for grief, for alcohol, for drugs, for mental health. And not just two, they get burnt out. … They need them desperately. But they say, ‘Where do we get them?’ Sometimes they say, ‘The money’s not there’ and sometimes they say, ‘We can’t get the people.’

Principal, St Therese’s Community School, Wilcannia

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Similarly, in a community where the life expectancy for men is 36.7 years and for women,

42.5 years (Wilcannia Health Service Development Transitional Plan cited in Wilcannia

Community Working Party, 2005), unending, intergenerational grief for Aboriginal people

in Wilcannia dealing with sudden and premature deaths in tragic circumstances was

repeatedly raised. Again, however, the lack of coordinated services in response was

referred to, particularly at the time of funerals when the need is acute.

Police approach. The high numbers of police located in Wilcannia – 12 police

stationed in a town with a population of 600 – and the style of policing were mentioned as

factors relevant to better understanding the rates of crime in Wilcannia by a significant

majority of interviewees who lived and/or worked in Wilcannia. The potential contribution

to high crime rates of a large police presence in itself was raised. In relation to style,

opposing views were expressed of, on the one hand, incidents that would pass without

notice elsewhere being prosecuted, contrasting with a perception that anti-social behaviour

was accepted in Wilcannia that would not be acceptable in other rural communities.

There was a general sense that the approach to policing in Wilcannia had improved

over recent years and that the police now play an important welfare role in the absence of

other services, since, ‘If you are the only door open, people will come to you’. However,

such observations were prefaced with a strongly stated preference for greater involvement

by individual police in community activities. Two Aboriginal Client Liaison Officers

(‘ACLOs’) are stationed in Wilcannia but their role was not raised by interviewees.

In a place like Wilcannia, it depends on who the cops are; the personalities of the police. If you get someone there who is a little bit more relaxed and laid back and a little bit more experienced, they tend to build a relationship with people - and that's the way to do it with Aboriginal people. You've had instances there where the police would get out and do walking patrols, and just wander around the town, and that's good, because people see them, kids see them, they talk to them: they sort of become less of an ogre or a mystery to people. But it just depends on who's running the local police force.

Aboriginal Community Service Provider

20

Difficulties in recruiting police to Wilcannia has led NSW Police to introduce the shortest

term of tenure in NSW and other incentives, including preferential relocation. The high

turnover of police officers and inexperience were identified as exacerbating problems in

the relationship between the police and community members, where, by the time police

become known, it is time for them to leave. Appropriate recruiting and training were

identified as important factors; especially where it is recognised that what is acceptable in

Wilcannia in terms of ‘anti-social behaviour’ may differ quite markedly to other towns.

Despite the high numbers of police in Wilcannia and opportunities for anonymous

disclosure, under-reporting of certain crimes, including sexual assault, was observed by

community members and acknowledged as a problem by police.

Criminal justice processes. Despite the common experience of contact with the

criminal justice system for Aboriginal people in Wilcannia, there was a reported lack of

understanding by community members of its workings. The implications include examples

of missed court appearances, breaches of bail and a broader sense of alienation from the

legal system and government services.

A number of interviewees working in the criminal justice system identified the lack

of available and appropriate options – both in terms of prevention and diversion in

sentencing – as a serious shortcoming in Wilcannia. One example referred to was that of

Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs). While AVOs play an important role for women in

particular in providing police protection against interpersonal violence, in the absence of

broader programs or strategies to assist perpetrators and victims of violence there were

often seen to exacerbate problems. People in relationships – friends, relatives or spouses –

regularly take out AVOs that are breached, leading to criminal proceedings.

The issuing of fines was a particular concern in an environment where people

frequently couldn’t afford to pay them, compounding contact with the criminal justice

21

system for adults and young people through the resultant loss of or inability to attain a

driver’s licence. The reality of a subsequent criminal record and incarceration for

unlicensed driving was referred to by workers in the criminal justice system.

Acceptance of crime. Several people described acceptance of criminal behaviour,

and specifically violent crime, as a particular characteristic of Wilcannia that was both a

cause and contributor to the high levels of violent crime. Contact with the criminal justice

system and incarceration were described as a rite of passage for young Aboriginal men in

the community, and even serious criminal behaviour did not invoke significant stigma. The

welcoming back to the community of those who had been incarcerated for violent crimes

was mentioned as both a problem and a strength in Wilcannia, where people will accept

you regardless of what you have done. Analysis of what constitutes good or bad behaviour

or what is socially acceptable or unacceptable was reportedly lacking. One police officer

described the phenomenon: ‘No-one addresses the fact that you stabbed that person

because you were drunk and out of control. No-one says, ‘you’ve had enough’, or ‘you’re

not having any’ or ‘we’re going to keep an eye on you’.’

Wilcannia’s unique in that it has a really high percentage of Aboriginal people within the community, so when you’ve got the majority of a town being suppressed, the effect of that over a number of generations means that people tend to drift more towards the violence and other socially unacceptable things. If you’re feeling resentful or a bit downtrodden and you tend to want to try and resolve that somehow, and if what you’re learning at home is a setting of if someone does you wrong you punch them in the face, then that’s what you’ll go through life doing.

Aboriginal Language and Culture Teacher, Wilcannia Acceptance of violence and particularly domestic violence is an intergenerational reality,

with an expectation that boys, although now highly defensive of their mothers and

grandmothers, may become perpetrators themselves. Frequent contact by children and

young people with such high levels of violence was described by interviewees living and

working in Wilcannia as normalising it to the point where children casually use domestic

violence terminology. They reportedly learn to accept and then exhibit anti-social

22

behaviour. Some interviewees were concerned that there were not adequate expectations of

or boundaries provided to young people.

However, there were also examples given of community members intervening and

working with police to address crimes by young people, including the community response

to the break-in of the local Catholic school and theft of the school bus.

Government policy and priorities. Raised by all but one of the interviewees were

problems associated with disjointed, inappropriate, remote service delivery, which was

seen as undermining the building of community capacity or infrastructure. Short-term

program funding and remotely located staff of multiple federal and state government

agencies and non-government organisations who do not operate in a planned or

coordinated fashion were identified as persistent and significant problems for the

community. In response, the Central Darling Shire Council recently conducted a service

mapping survey identifying 46 different human services being offered to communities in

the region without a central point of coordination (Drewery, 2009, 9).

The millions of dollars ostensibly allocated to Wilcannia to address dire need in

areas such as housing, child protection and crime prevention were described as being

principally spent on government employees and consultants ‘driving up and down the

highway from Broken Hill’ and as ‘dead money’. This was perceived as leading to a

surface appearance of great sums of money being poured into Wilcannia and a distorted

reflection of actual resources realised in the town.

A lack of evaluation and accountability by agencies working in the community is

endemic. Top down, short-term programs are implemented but rarely genuinely assessed in

terms of their effectiveness. Lack of consultation with and accountability to the community

was a source of frustration, resulting in exhausting repetition where the same community

23

needs and ambitions are identified but not acted upon. Ultimately, this was seen as creating

a reluctance on the part of community members to engage in consultation.

We do everything short term. We never plan for 25 years with milestones along the way and measure what we are doing. We never do that. You never see somebody with their $3 million sit down… to see how it’s going and what it’s doing. It puts a bit of money into the town but there’s nothing long term. I have seen all these short-term programs go for a couple of years. In three years’ time, they might rename it, give it a funding injection, employ different people to do exactly the same thing all over again… It’s got no substance. We should be ashamed of ourselves.

NSW Police Officer, Broken Hill The lack of accountability of service providers and government departments in a

community where individuals, especially parents, are frequently lectured about taking

responsibility for their actions was keenly felt, with anger at such simplistic analysis.

The heavy handed accountability imposed on parents and kids’ attendance at school has to be imposed on agencies as well. Being heavy handed on the local people of Wilcannia who are very disempowered is to pick on people who have been picked on enough. I would like to see government agencies and people responsible… up the line [be held accountable] – the people who should know better.

Acting Principal, Wilcannia Central School The increasing tendency to regionalise services and strategies was strongly criticised, with

service provision coordinated from hundreds of kilometres away. While the difficulties in

recruiting suitably qualified people to work in Wilcannia was acknowledged, there was a

strong sense that government policy and processes were not flexible enough and did not

provide sufficient incentives to make Wilcannia a realistic option for employment. There

was a strong preference for locally based services employing local people.

The absence of a community-based approach by governments was also criticised in

the context of inflexible funding guidelines that require a ‘product’ to fit bureaucratic

guidelines, rather than responding to the needs of particular communities.

Importantly, there was also criticism of government programs and priorities that

failed to consider or integrate Aboriginal culture as central to their operation. While health,

housing, education and cost of living were identified as essential responsibilities of

24

government, there was a need identified amongst local Aboriginal people to foster the

spiritual and cultural elements in the community.

Community dynamics. Despite its high rates of crime, the perception of Wilcannia

as a frightening town and dangerous to strangers is clearly overstated. The violent crime, in

particular, is not random but was reported, especially by workers in the criminal justice

system and interviewees resident in Wilcannia, as occurring within friendships, families

and relationships. The particular issue of violence against women was referred to as

endemic and devastating in Wilcannia. The work of the locally based Women’s Safehouse

in providing support and temporary accommodation for women leaving abusive

relationships was lauded, however the lack of appropriate services to assist perpetrators

and offer support for children and families more generally was consistently raised.

Interviewees regularly referred to deep-seated problems in the community that

could be connected back to a lack of ownership of planning and decision-making regarding

issues affecting Aboriginal people. The service delivery by ‘remote control’ identified

above and the lack of representative organisations in the community able to facilitate

community aspirations was considered to have a deeply disempowering effect. The

ongoing effect of lack of community control was described as resulting in a lack of

meaningful long-term vision and purpose or sense of hope. Community led initiatives have

been ignored or overridden leading to demoralisation and reluctance to engage. A recent

housing project completed without genuine consultation with the community that has

resulted in poor outcomes for the funds and time taken was raised by all interviewees

living and working in Wilcannia and others as an illustration of the failure of imposed

external strategies. A strong preference was expressed for local initiatives. There was also,

however, recognition of an accompanying lack of capacity to make the significant changes

needed and to engage in long term strategic planning and implementation of decisions.

25

Wilcannia is described as the centre of Barkindji culture and the majority of

Aboriginal people living there identify as Barkindji, the traditional owners of the land,

though distinct factions and divisions based on historical events were alluded to by police

and other service providers and residents. There were competing discourses on the

significance of traditional culture and spirituality; and similarly, competing narratives on

the role of Christian churches. Wilcannia was described as having a rich Barkindji culture

and high degree of adherence to tradition, praised by some Aboriginal interviewees for

resisting assimilation. Simultaneously, there was concern that high levels of substance

abuse were undermining respect for, and practice of, culture. Frustration was expressed,

especially by older Aboriginal interviewees, at the loss of respect for elders and the

perception that with the loss of elders, peacemakers were absent to deal with conflict and

to overcome relationship breakdowns between individuals and families. The breakdown of

certain cultural norms and respect was raised by some Aboriginal interviewees in the

community as a cause of anti-social behaviour and as blocking positive change in the town.

However, while a number of people expressed frustration that respect for elders

was decreasing, there was also recognition that there were respected people in the

community, who with the right support could play a crucial leadership role, although there

was no clear statement of what it might entail. Indeed, there was cynicism about self-

appointed ‘leaders’ who may not have legitimacy with the community. Key individuals

were recognised as making an important voluntary contribution to the community, but

were generally not well supported and tended to burn out. Other interviewees emphasised

community strengths and the importance of family connections and loyalty as important

positive elements that need more recognition in Wilcannia.

The Aboriginal population of Wilcannia is transient and the criminal justice system

tend to intensify this mobility. For example, violent feuds may be addressed by court

26

orders that require individuals to leave town; people seeking, or being ordered to receive

treatment for alcohol addiction must leave; people incarcerated or youths put into detention

also leave. Families often follow, staying with relatives or friends in other towns, leading

to further overcrowding and children frequently do not go to school for the duration.

Menindee: Lower Crime Rates

Research participants described difficulties in articulating reasons for the comparatively

lower rate of crime in Menindee, describing instead that ‘it had always been this way’ or

that ‘people here don’t want trouble’. Interviewees described the community as generally

law-abiding, cohesive and as able to solve problems locally and that the community had

‘worked well for years’. The narratives regarding the possible causes for lower crime rates

in Menindee involved community support for crime prevention; better employment

prospects; a sense of expectation and hope; and a strong school/community relationship.

However, under-reporting was also mentioned as an important factor. Associated issues

identified were the important role played by a group of women leaders in the community;

and emphasis on local solutions to local problems.

A law-abiding town. Menindee was stated to be a community that generally had a

good working relationship with the police and relevant government agencies in relation to

crime prevention. The role of the police Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer, who is a

member of a prominent family and a key community figure, was considered to be

particularly important in keeping police informed of potential concerns and, equally, in

insisting upon cultural appropriateness from the police.

Community mobilisation was also raised as important in crime prevention in

Menindee, where people tended to take certain matters into their own hands, being seen as

unnecessary to involve the police.

27

Couple of outsiders come into town caused a lot of the rot. Parents are quick to jump on it... One mother heard about it through the group of women I’m involved with. We rang the police, rang the health service and the school. Some parents had a meeting there and then. Someone went to the shop and told them not to sell fly spray to kids. Had another incident at about the same time with kids burning one another with deodorant. Next morning the school banned deodorant at school. Parents were notified – notices were put up saying that police were going to check bags. Police didn’t need to because the parents put a stop to it. Parents will get together at the drop of a hat and say, we’re going to do this. That needs to be done. Couldn’t wait for DoCS to come out or Mission Australia because it won’t happen.

Aboriginal Community Worker, Menindee The tendency for the community to deal with issues internally was characterised both

positively and negatively. While some matters were seen as able to be satisfactorily

resolved within or between families, there was also a perceived danger of serious crime

such as domestic violence going unreported and remaining hidden, or situations escalating

when people don’t feel that their grievances are sufficiently considered by police.

One of the strongest themes emerging from interviewees regarding Menindee was

the importance of informal social controls on lower crime rates, historically and today.

Interviewees living and working in Menindee and others regularly described Menindee as

a place where there is a sense of pride and where there is a stigma attached to criminal

offending. In fact, one Wilcannia community service provider and resident expressed his

frustration at the local level of pride in Menindee, which he considered to be ‘over the top’.

The community [in Menindee] is stronger – they take care of their own. There is more employment. There is more self respect and self esteem.

Aboriginal Client Service Specialist, Broken Hill/Wilcannia Local Courts

We have some [people who have been convicted of crimes] here and they’re just not treated as well as others… In Menindee, the stigma stays with you. In Wilcannia people forget. Will be drinking up and laughing up alongside the people who have taken other people’s lives. In Menindee, they’re not treated the same if you do something like that. You’re looked at quite differently but you’re not cast aside either.

Aboriginal Community Worker, Broken Hill

Better employment prospects. As previously stated, ironically, the 2006 Census

records that unemployment for Aboriginal people in Menindee is twice that of Wilcannia

(39.6% compared to 20.5%) (ABS, 2007c, 2007d). Yet better employment prospects in

28

Menindee was consistently referred to by the vast majority of interviewees from Menindee,

Wilcannia and Broken Hill to as a contributing factor to lower crime rates and greater self-

esteem. Employment opportunities are provided locally by irrigated viticulture,

horticulture and tourism and the pastoral/grazing industry as well as to opportunities in

Broken Hill (Drewery, 2009, 7).

Economic opportunity is probably one of the contributing factors to the difference in crime rates… There is that reflection in the two communities where Menindee has that difference of employment opportunities all the time, rather than Wilcannia only having [employment] part of the time.

Chairperson, Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly However, some interviewees still raised challenges faced by Aboriginal people in

Menindee in terms of accessing employment.

A lot of people will employ Aboriginal people when there are the traineeship dollars but when it comes to the actual jobs… A lot of people are happy when the blackfella is below them but don’t like it when the blackfella is level to them. That’s a different kettle of fish.

Aboriginal Community Worker, Broken Hill Other people observed that it was too simplistic to attribute differences in crime rates

between Menindee and Wilcannia to employment opportunities, highlighting many of the

problems facing Aboriginal people living in bigger towns and cities where employment is

more readily available.

Expectation and hope. Menindee was described as a town with a vision for a

positive future by interviewees in Menindee and Wilcannia alike. Parents’ values were

described as being of paramount influence, reflected in high expectations of young people,

encouraging them to experience life outside Menindee, ensuring they attend school and

encouraging them to undertake vocational training and get their drivers’ licence.

Forget about Indigenous/non-Indigenous, straight across the board. Not only with the dramas that I’ve seen here but in 21 years of policing, the problems we have with kids. Generally speaking, kids in trouble don’t come from stable family backgrounds and don’t regularly attend school. In Menindee, a greater proportion of kids come from stable family backgrounds and they regularly attend school, as opposed to Wilcannia. With juvenile

29

crime leading into later in life crime, adult crime, a huge influencing factor, probably the biggest are the values imposed by parents. In any community.

Crime Manager, NSW Police, Broken Hill The consequences of involvement in the criminal justice system for future employment

and opportunity is reportedly emphasised with young people, especially by those employed

in the criminal justice system and school. The fraught question of how to deal with

juvenile offenders was raised in the context of what is appropriate intervention to halt a

progression from juvenile to adult offending. In particular, there was tension perceived

between the acknowledgment of custody as rightfully a sanction of last resort and an

expressed need to prevent adult offending.

They need to be hard on, say a 17 year old kid. I know that cautioning thing is a good idea, but say a 17 year old kid goes and does something. You’ll find they start from about 14. Mum sticks up for them. [There is a] difference between supporting your kid and sticking up for them. If they’ve stuffed up, they’ve stuffed up… Problem is that start when you’re 14, you get a smack on the wrist, a smack on the wrist, a smack on the wrist. You turn 18 and bang, you’re inside. That’s the biggest problem. They need to be really drilling those kids and giving it to them. For some kids in Menindee, conferencing has worked. Put the wind up them. But there are others who just go there and their parents tell them, ‘Go along and make out you care’… You need to be hard on them.

Aboriginal Community Worker, Menindee

School/community relationship. The strong relationship between the school and

the Aboriginal community was identified as a key factor by interviewees in and outside

Menindee, with the school being perceived as playing a key role in neutralising

disadvantage. In particular, having an active, experienced principal committed to working

in partnership with the community was acknowledged. There was an important sense of

community input into the school direction and approach, especially through the Schools in

Partnership program, Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and external Aboriginal

mentor, and respect for Aboriginal staff and content. The school conducts an evening

Aboriginal history and culture class and teachers are strongly encouraged to attend. The

role of a young Aboriginal male educator was referred to as a useful model for engaging

Aboriginal young people in the activities of the school. Traineeships with local businesses

30

and organisations for students in later years of school were seen as an important bridging

step to employment, with a high degree of support from within the community and more

broadly and with ambitions for expansion. While interviewees identified ongoing

challenges facing the school and a certain fragility, there was a sense of commitment to

having a functioning, nurturing school that provided a future for Aboriginal students with

innovative responsive strategies and one that ‘will not give up on the kids’.

There was, however, broad recognition of the lack of organised activities for

children and young people outside school hours. The need for a drop-in centre was raised,

although community members emphasised the need for it to be a facility tailored to the

specific needs of the community.

Under-reporting. The issue of under-reporting, particularly of domestic violence,

was widely acknowledged as a possible explanation for lower crime rates in Menindee,

including by police. Explanations for under-reporting fell into two main categories. First,

that local police were unavailable or unresponsive. The comparatively lower levels of

police staffing (2.5 police for a community of 330) whose availability was further limited

by the occasional requirement to assist in other communities such as Wilcannia or Ivanhoe

was described as problematic. Further, that emergency calls went to Broken Hill rather

than to the local police station and often not responded to in a timely manner was

identified as leading to lower reporting of crime. A description was given of this lack of

responsiveness leading to the perception that the police were not interested, so that people

take matters into their own hands in a negative sense. Workers in the criminal justice

system argued that such under-reporting may distort data, making it difficult to discern

patterns that could inform crime prevention strategies.

Second, as described above, there was a broad description of Menindee as a town

that has historically and continues to take care of its own problems, particularly in dealing

31

with juvenile offenders. One person described people undertaking their own investigations

of break-ins and approaching the parents of young people allegedly involved. This was

seen as having both positive and negative aspects: positive in that young people can avoid

the criminal justice system, negative in the potential for retribution and inadequately

informing crime prevention strategies and resourcing levels.

Notwithstanding alleged under-reporting, there was a prevailing sense that

Menindee had a markedly lower crime rate than Wilcannia. Only one person claimed that

crime levels in Menindee were equal to Wilcannia, which was discounted by other

interviewees, including police. Further, police call out data confirms that 000 calls and

other incidents where police have radioed to send a police car are markedly higher in

Wilcannia than Menindee, particularly for domestic violence.

[Insert Table 3] Associated Issues: Menindee

Interviewees elaborated on these factors by identifying various issues, some of which may

be unique to Menindee and others of which may be reflective of more cohesive

communities generally.

Strong women leaders. The influential role played by a group of women

community members in Menindee, most of them related, was regularly identified as a key

factor in the dynamics and functioning of the community by police and health and

education service providers. The majority of interviewees were positive about the role

played by this group of women and highlighted their commitment to the community and

hard work. Other Aboriginal interviewees described their leadership role in negative terms.

Menindee women will put themselves out and do a lot for other people because [Menindee] just doesn’t have the services here. No one else will do it. That’s just what you do.

Aboriginal Community Worker, Menindee

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[The women] may be seen to be greedy. They may be seen to be unpopular but without them, this would be a much lesser town. They are a formidable group.

Principal, Menindee Central School

This group of women plays an important role in the Community Working Party, the

Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, in the school and in running the local rugby

club and Meals on Wheels.

Lack of government services. Every interviewee living and/or working in

Menindee and others referred to the lack of government services and programs in

Menindee. This was described in both negative and positive terms. All observed that not

being seen as a ‘problem community’ like Wilcannia meant that there was not sufficient

focus on the needs of people living there. Nonetheless, some Aboriginal interviewees felt

that the reason Menindee continued to function better was, ironically, in part due to a lack

of government interference in or control over the way things operate in the community.

We don’t get nearly as much as what Wilcannia does. There’s been lots of talk around town like maybe our crime rate should go up so we can get some of the funding.

Aboriginal Health Worker, Menindee Similar themes emerged in relation to Menindee as had arisen in Wilcannia in the context

of delivery of government services – problems with regionalisation, remote service

delivery and a homogenous approach to all communities. As in Wilcannia, the lack of

mental health services was particularly highlighted. One specific example given was of the

cessation of the role of Community Facilitators, arising from the Murdi Paaki Partnership

project and designed to strengthen the operation of local Community Working Parties. A

new role has been created, community engagement officers, employed by the Department

of Aboriginal Affairs but not be based in the communities. There was frustration at the

removal of an accessible community-based resource, especially one designed to facilitate

capacity building in the community.

33

Local solutions to local problems. The aim of the Community Working Party

(CWP) in Menindee was stated by members to be finding local solutions to local problems,

based on what local people know would work. Members of the CWP considered

community control to be central to its operation, which resists intervention from outsiders

in terms of its method of operation and identifying priorities.

People come to work with us, we want references from them. We want references from the communities; the black people. We want contact numbers from some of the tenants. We want contact numbers from people on the ground. We don’t want people up top telling us that this is all pretty.

Aboriginal Community Worker, Menindee One reason given for a lack of services in Menindee was the CWP’s policy of rejecting

funding or programs from government or non-government agencies that did not fit in with

the long-term vision of those working at a community level. This included what was

referred to as the ‘boys’ club’ dominating some Aboriginal organisations. The tendency for

government agencies in particular to adopt a ‘blanket approach’ when delivering services

or programs to Aboriginal communities was particularly criticised.

[Government agencies are] duplicating a lot of things in communities. It’s one size fits all. No, sorry, we’re out of shape and we need it to be designed for us.

Aboriginal Community Worker, Menindee

Community dynamics. The discourse of Menindee wanting to find its own

solutions to problems in the community was a prominent one. The importance of

organising training and opportunities for people in the community, particularly young

people, was emphasised. Consciousness of the need for succession planning was explicitly

stated. Divisions within the community were acknowledged, including between Nyampa

and Barkindji, exacerbated by land rights and native title processes. However overall there

was a sense that there was a contemporary, cohesive culture in the town, and people were

seeking to work together for the town to have a positive future.

34

[Menindee] has its factions. Every town has its factions. It’s not Indigenous communities. Every town has its factions but they are at a point where they are prepared to say, how about we agree to disagree and move on in the best interests of the town.

Duty Officer, NSW Police, Broken Hill Aboriginal people living and working in Menindee described a high level of intermarriage

within the Aboriginal community, so that everyone was related. This was said to create a

strong bond where people looked out for each other. When problems emerge, there

historically has been and continues to be swift community action. The stability of the

Aboriginal population was also noted with the same Aboriginal families in town since the

days of the Menindee mission. Interestingly, only one person raised the influx of seasonal

workers (Drewery, 2009, 7) as impacting on crime in the town.

There was also particular emphasis on Menindee as an integrated town with a high

level of intermarriage and collaboration between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.

Aboriginal interviewees in Wilcannia and Menindee contrasted the segregation in the

Mission and Mallee in Wilcannia, observing that Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in

Menindee live together and grow up next to each other.

Discussion

As described above, the pilot study drew on social disorganisation theory to inform the

broad issues raised with interviewees and analysis of data. In summary, the theory

proposes that a high level of collective efficacy or social cohesion among neighbours,

combined with their willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good, is linked to

reduced crime (Sampson et al, 1997, 918). Interestingly, on its face, it is arguable that

social disorganisation theory might hypothesise higher rates of crime in Menindee than

Wilcannia. While both communities have similar household weekly income and

proportions of one parent families, unemployment in Menindee is double that in

Wilcannia; both communities are bi-racial, yet Aboriginal people in Wilcannia are

35

predominantly traditional owners on their own country and described as ‘traditional’, while

the Aboriginal population in Menindee consists of historical rivals forced together under a

policy of assimilation; Wilcannia is larger than Menindee but both are small, remote towns

with very high proportions of Aboriginal people.

The three studies exploring variations in rates of crime in NSW rural towns,

referred to above, investigated the applicability of social disorganisation theory (Jobes et

al, 2004; Jobes et al, 2005, Donnermeyer et al, 2007). Arising from their exploration of

two communities with Aboriginal populations of approximately 6%, Jobes et al (2005)

concluded that the community with the higher crime rate suffered social disorganisation,

being larger, more diverse and fragmented. The Aboriginal members of the community

came from all over Australia and there was animosity between Aboriginal groups as well

as strained relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. The community

with the lower crime rate was more homogenous and cohesive, exhibiting ‘successful

integration’ where Aboriginal people, who were largely the traditional owners, exhibited

‘white mainstream values’ (Jobes et al, 2005, 237). However, the findings of the third

study of four rural towns with variation in proportion of Aboriginal population and

variation in crime rates could not be fully accounted by social disorganisation or conflict

theories, which should be seen to complement each other (Donnermeyer et al, 2007).

Interestingly, the authors concluded that crime rates in the towns with the larger Aboriginal

populations were better explained by conflict theory, while social disorganisation theory

better explained crime rates in the towns with average Aboriginal populations. Reflecting

on their previous finding that economic conditions are not directly related to crime, (Jobes

et al, 2004) they noted that unemployment and economic decline may underlie the relative

cohesiveness of rural community social structures (Jobes et al, 2007, 240).

Wilcannia

36

Wilcannia’s reputation as a ‘wild west’ town to be feared and avoided due to its high crime

rates does not reflect the reality that crime in Wilcannia is primarily committed by

Aboriginal community members against each other. Interviwees described a cycle of

powerlessness and hopelessness, involving significant alcohol abuse, poverty, poor mental

health and contact with the criminal justice system from an early age.

Interestingly, a number of social disorganisation theory’s indicators of social

cohesion that would predict a low crime rate are clearly evident within the Aboriginal

community of Wilcannia. High density of acquaintanceship, shared values and strong

relationships exist but do not operate to inhibit crime and indeed may operate to support

criminal behaviour. Strong informal controls reportedly operate within the Aboriginal

community in Wilcannia, including pressure from some members to adopt ‘anti-social’

behaviours such as heavy alcohol consumption. The language of shame is reportedly used

to support anti-social conformity and there is little stigma attached to contact with the

criminal justice system, even that involving serious and violent criminal behaviour.

However, while there is widespread, dangerous levels of alcohol abuse, the community

reportedly does not tolerate ‘hard drugs’ and acts quickly and proactively to prevent their

use, including anonymous disclosure to police.

There is no apparent cohesion, however, across a wide Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal

divide, physically, economically and socially with little informal contact and reports of

direct and indirect racism. There was hostility to such obvious disparities in socioeconomic

circumstance and opportunity.

Controls inhibiting crime are largely consistent with the characterisation by Jobes

et al (2005) of a community utilising reactive or manufactured controls. When asked about

responses to crime or where people go to when there were problems in the town,

interviewees referred to programs or institutions, particularly the police, rather than

37

individuals or community initiatives. The undermining of respect for elders and practice of

culture was lamented, while simultaneously, adherence to a rich Barkindji culture was

described. Some individuals have attempted to make positive changes at a community

level but tend to receive little support and are likely to experience burn out.

Menindee

Interviewees found articulating reasons for lower crime rates in Menindee less

straightforward. ‘People just don’t want any trouble’ was a regular refrain.

Notwithstanding that community members experience many of the same challenges facing

people in Wilcannia in terms of the legacy of low educational and employment outcomes,

poor health and housing, there was a different discourse around community control and

effecting positive change. There is clearly resilience in the Aboriginal community in

Menindee that is lacking in Wilcannia. A group of Aboriginal women, most of whom are

related, is prominent in Menindee community dynamics and functioning although the

respective histories and geographic context of the two communities were also referred to.

Menindee was routinely described as, historically and today, a generally united

community with good relations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, including

significant intermarriage. While a small number of Aboriginal interviewees disparaged

Aboriginal people of Menindee as ‘assimilated’, a ‘manifestation of white mainstream

values’ that Jobes et al (2005) describe is not evident in Menindee. Rather, there is

observable assertion of, and pride in their Aboriginality and enthusiasm to explore local

Aboriginal history and culture, such as through an adult Aboriginal education class held at

the school. Thus, while there are high conventional expectations of young people and pride

in their success at school and in traineeships, there are strong and insistent expectations

that institutions in the town such as the school and the health service would embody

Aboriginal perspectives. In particular, the school takes pride in formal and informal

38

Aboriginal input, which is integral to its operation. Thus, while the hypothesis proposed by

Donnermeyer et al (2007: 13) of lower crime rates in small bi-racial towns where

conventional behaviours and values are shared is on its face supported but not as integrated

communities. Instead, Menindee could be better described as an Aboriginal domain that is

confidently interacting with its non-Aboriginal neighbours.

Reported divisions exist between the Barkindji, the traditional owners, and the

Nyampa, which reflect the legacy of colonisation and dispossession that profoundly

affected the town and the region, more recently exacerbated by land rights and native title

processes. There were competing versions of the level of animosity, although many

interviewees commented on the level of intermarriage between the two groups. Two

Aboriginal residents noted that the same Aboriginal families had lived in Menindee since

the days of the mission and that everyone was related.

In terms of controls, Menindee does exhibit some of the supportive or natural

controls also described by Jobes et al (2005). There are few bureaucratised programs and

initiatives, leading to the motto that ‘if we want something done, we have to do it

ourselves’. This is partly out of resignation at the lack of available or appropriate services,

but also a manifestation of an ethos of community control. Where crime does occur, it is

sometimes dealt with at the local level, particularly as it relates to young people.

There were competing narratives on the effect of controls on outsiders. On the one

hand, strong informal controls were said to exist to pressure newcomers or outsiders to

conform. It was said that ‘troublemakers’ knew better than to come to Menindee and cause

trouble. The example was given of public drinking and anti-social behaviour not being

tolerated from visitors on days of inter-town rugby matches. On the other hand, crime was

described as being perpetrated by outsiders to the community but it is not clear who these

outsiders are. There is an influx of seasonal workers to nearby agricultural properties but

39

this was raised by a lone interviewee as a factor impacting on crime rates. Importantly,

however, there was the recognition that there was potentially significant underreporting of

local crime, especially domestic violence.

The community dynamics of Menindee largely supports the description given by

Donnermeyer et al (2007, 5) of the conforming community, where there is both nurturing

and encouragement, and gossip and ostracism to informally control deviance. However,

residents more frequently used the language of expectation and ambition when describing

community dynamics than overt control.

In summary, social disorganisation theory does not provide a clear explanation for

the contrasting high rates of crime in Wilcannia compared to those in Menindee. While

both communities exhibit dense networks of acquaintanceship and shared values and

beliefs, those in Wilcannia operated in a negative sense, manifest in norms that tolerated

and did not stigmatise criminal and anti-social behaviour, albeit with intolerance to ‘hard

drugs’ culminating in community action. On the other hand, Menindee exhibited the

positive attributes of social cohesion, while nonetheless displaying elements of social

disorganisation. Of particular interest is the building of cohesion in Menindee from a

‘distressed and disorganised state’ (Goodall, 1996, 202) arising from a policy of forcible

concentration of Aboriginal people regardless of historical enmity, in contrast to

Wilcannia’s inability to show resilience in the face of oppressive colonisation.

This cohesion exhibited by the Menindee community and its lack in Wilcannia is

illustrative of the need for caution in generalising about Indigenous communities. The

community in Menindee is made up of traditional owners and other Aboriginal people,

with reportedly little connection to ‘traditional’ Aboriginal customs or culture. As

suggested by Snowball and Weatherburn (2008: 219), given such breakdown of traditional

society and history of conflict, there might be an expectation of social disorganisation.

40

However, Aboriginal people in Menindee describe themselves as a proud, contemporary

Aboriginal community with a strong sense of identity and vision for a positive future.

Issues For Further Research

Hogg and Carrington’s (2006, 200) finding that crime problems and other social

and economic ills of rural Australia are unlikely to be satisfactorily addressed without

constructive, inclusive, long-term strategies resonates with this pilot study.

While Indigenous communities may share common histories or experiences, such

as those stemming from the impact of government policies and practices, Indigenous

communities are self-evidently not homogenous and as Homel et al identify, local factors

are critical in the balance between risk and protective factors in Aboriginal communities

(Homel et al, 1999, 185). This was a small, time-limited pilot study and our findings have

raised a number of issues for further research. The research team proposes to undertake a

second phase of research in the two towns to explore in more depth the issues emerging

from this early pilot, commencing with an exploration of factors that were raised in one

community but not the other, such as the impact of alcohol in Menindee, which had been

such a prominent narrative in Wilcannia.

Informal social controls apparently operate to opposite effect in the two towns,

which will be the crux of further exploration, including an investigation of the histories of

the two towns for changes over time. The impact of the relationship between Aboriginal

and non-Aboriginal communities in the two bi-racial towns requires further investigation,

especially in terms of whether shared values and behaviours across communities are

important. Similarly, given that serious crime occurs predominantly in the Aboriginal

communities, types of crime as potential indicators of different causal, local factors in the

community will also be explored.

41

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our thanks to the anonymous reviewers for their very helpful and

constructive comments on an earlier draft of this article.

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Table 1: Wilcannia and Menindee in profile

Wilcannia Menindee Australia Population 596 332 19,855,288 Indigenous people 67.4% 46.7% 2.3% Median age 29 38 37 Indigenous median age 23 26 20 Children aged 0-14 years 27.5% 21.1% 19.8% Indigenous children aged 0-14 years

33.5% 33.8% 37.6%

Persons aged 55 years and over

15.6% 25.9% 24.3%

Indigenous persons aged 55 years and over

9.2% 8.4% 8.2%

Unemployed 11.2% 20.4% 5.2% Indigenous persons unemployed

20.5% 39.6% 15.6%

Median household weekly income

$805 $572 $1,027

Indigenous median household weekly income

$628 $561 $721

Indigenous completed Year 10 or equivalent

27.8% 43.6% 28%

Indigenous completed Year 12 or equivalent

4.1% 7.9% 19.4%

Indigenous persons aged 15-19 in full time education

3.4% 14.9% 7.7%

Indigenous persons with a qualification

14.7 33.7 35.7

One parent families 24.6% 33.3% 15.8% Persons born overseas 2.5% 3.3% 22.2%

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 Census of Population and Housing.

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Table 2: NSW Recorded Crime Statistics 2008: Number of Indigenous persons of interest1 whose place of residence was either postcode 2836, 2879 or 2880, selected offences

2836 2879 2880 (includes Wilcannia) (Menindee) (Includes Broken Hill)

Indigenous

POIs rate per

100,000 pop Indigenous

POIs rate per

100,000 pop Indigenous

POIs rate per

100,000 pop Murder 0 0 0 0 0 0 Assault2 93 22682.9 11 6250.0 151 12207.0 Sexual offences 5 1219.5 0 0.0 7 565.9 Robbery 1 243.9 0 0.0 2 161.7 Break and enter 29 7073.2 3 1704.5 75 6063.1 Motor vehicle theft 26 6341.5 0 0.0 15 1212.6 Stealing3 9 2195.1 1 568.2 44 3557.0 Fraud 1 243.9 0 0.0 4 323.4 Malicious damage to property 16 3902.4 4 2272.7 55 4446.2 Indigenous population4 410 176 1237

1. Persons of interest (POIs) are alleged offenders or persons who the police suspect have been involved in a criminal incident. Some POIs are formally proceeded against by police and some are not. POI details are recorded by NSW Police Force on the Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS) in connection with a recorded criminal incident. Criminal incidents involving multiple offenders can have more than one associated POI. Correspondingly, no POI information will be recorded for criminal incidents in which there is no known suspect.

2. Includes domestic violence assault, non-domestic violence assault and assault police. 3. Includes steal from motor vehicle, retail store, dwelling, person, stock theft and other theft. 4. Indigenous population data was sourced from the ABS and is from the 2006 census.

Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (jf09-8277)

48

Table 3: Police Call Out data for Wilcannia and Menindee

Wilcannia Menindee

Selected categories

Rate per 100,000

for 2008

Rate per 100,000

for 2008 Assault 12,751.7 4216.9 Brawl 2,349.0 602.4 Break & enter 4,362.4 602.4 Domestic violence 56,879.2 8433.7 Malicious damage 3,523.5 301.2 Neighbour dispute 167.8 903.6 Noise complaint 3,355.7 1204.8 Sexual assault 0.0 602.4 Steal from motor vehicle 335.6 0.0 Stealing 1,006.7 301.2 Stolen vehicle 1,006.7 602.4

Source: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research

49

Appendix: Questions for Interviewees o Organisational history and role

What is the role and history of your organisation in the community? Who are your constituents/stakeholders/clients? What is your funding source/relationship to government?

o Community perceptions How would you describe the community? What is the community’s history? What has/how have things changed over time? How would you describe the community’s strengths/ weaknesses? Where/who do people go to when there is a problem? What would you say the level of community participation/social involvement is? What are the main community organisations in the community? What voluntary organisations/groups exist in the community? Who organises them? How many

people belong/are involved? What networks or mechanisms are there for supporting community members? What are the main community events of the year? Who organises them? What is the community’s cultural make up? What is the role of women in the community? What is the role of older people in the community? How do young people in the community spend their time? What do they do when they leave

school? What is the relationship between young people and others in the community? Who takes responsibility for young people in trouble?

What are the non-Aboriginal perceptions/media representations of the community? o Socio-economic context

Who are the main employers of Indigenous people? What is the housing situation like here for Indigenous people? What is young people’s experience of education? How mobile are members of the community? What services do you think the community needs that it doesn’t have?

o Role of government What are the main government agencies represented in the community? What do they do? How

are they perceived? o Crime rates

What are your/the common perceptions about the rates of crime/Indigenous offending in the community?

Have crime rates changed over time? In what ways? What factors do you think may have influenced this?

What kinds of crime are most common? Why do you think that is the case? o Positive initiatives

Have there been any strategies/programs that were designed to have reduced crime rates/increased community cohesion? How did they come about?

Who was in charge of them? Did they work? How/why? What strategies/programs do you think might be useful to reduce crime rates/increase

community cohesion? How/why? Possible questions related to community cohesion, autonomy and social capital

• Can most people be trusted to do the right thing? • Do most people feel they can influence local decisions? • Are there forms of networking? If so

o Who is included? o Who isn’t accepted/has a tough time/is excluded?

• How strong is pressure to fit in? what happens to people who don’t? • Who are seen as troublemakers? • Who sees the laws as fair? Who obeys? Who transgresses? • Do some people get away with things? Are there others who cop it? • Is good work recognised? Are new ideas welcome? • If there is community conflict, are there processes to sort and solve these out? How?

50

1 In this paper, the term Indigenous will be used to refer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. The tem Aboriginal will be used in reference to particular communities in NSW with populations that identify as Aboriginal. 2 Most recently, the NSW Government State Plan (NSW Government, 2006) commits to reduce re-offending, to reduce levels of antisocial behaviour and to increase participation in community activities, especially in Aboriginal communities, by 2016. Strengthening Aboriginal communities is identified as a key goal. The NSW Government Aboriginal Justice Plan Beyond Justice 2004-2014 (NSW Aboriginal Justice Advisory Council, 2003) also specifically commits the Attorney General’s Department to funding research that assists in reducing Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system. 3 Note that the populations of the broader postcode areas encompassing the towns for which crime date are available are respectively 759 and 631. Crime data was not available for the towns alone. Nonetheless, the pilot study focused on the towns as the primary residence of Aboriginal people: 155 Aboriginal people live in the town of Menindee of the 176 who live in the postcode, while 402 Aboriginal people live in the town of Wilcannia of the 410 who live in the postcode.